Continuing our Aces High history lesson, today we will take a look at the Battle of Leyte and its significance. The owners and staff at HiTech Creations feel a knowledge of World War 2 and its important battles will help players have a better appreciation for the game that they play.
The Battle of Leyte was fought between October 20th and December 31st, 1944, at Leyte Island, Philippines. The attackers were comprised of the United States, the Philippine Commonwealth, and Australia under the central command of General Douglas MacArthur, and they had forces numbering in excess of 200,000. The defenders of the island were the Empire of Japan and the Second Philippine Republic with forces numbering 55,000 under the command of General Yamashita.
This was the first battle of the Philippines Campaign of 1944-45 to recapture the entire Philippine Archipelago and end almost three years of Japanese control. Interestingly it was also the first battle in which Japan used kamikaze pilots.
The Philippines, of course, were an important source of supplies for Japan, namely rubber, and they were also strategically located so that whoever controlled them controlled the main shipping routes to Borneo and Sumatra. If the United States could re-establish control of the Philippines it could effectively cripple Japan and isolate that nation.
By the end of fighting Japan had lost nearly 49,000 of their troops compared to just 3,500 casualties for the United States. Japan also lost 26 major warships in a crippling defeat that basically sealed their fate for the remainder of the Pacific campaign, dooming them to the inevitable end of the war. Nearly 250,000 Japanese troops remained in Luzon but the remainder of the war Japan had to fight a defensive battle in Luzon and that outcome was never in doubt. The final assaults on mainland Japan and its home islands were only possible because of this important battle and victory by the Allied forces, and it was important on a personal level for General MacArthur, who had vowed two years previous that he would return and free the Philippine people and his own captured American troops.
Combat simulators like Aces High are only as good as their attention to detail, and studying and understanding the history of World War 2 is a huge step in making Aces High the number one World War 2 flight simulator on the market. Give it a try and find out why thousands of gamers turn to Aces High when they want to play a flight simulation game.